Object feeding system

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an object-feeding system. The feeding system includes an object feeder and a pickup roller. The object feeder includes an object separating ramp and a tray part. The object separating ramp is placed along an object feeding direction. The tray part is for loading at least an object to be fed, and the tray part includes a main body and a protruding portion sticking out from the main body and connected to the object separating ramp, wherein the protruding portion and the main body constitute a hollow part. The pickup roller is for feeding the object by rolling, wherein the hollow and the pickup roller separately locate two sides of the object and the pickup roller locates the hollow place above.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an object feeder, and particularlyrelates to an object feeder with a tray part having a function forautomatically adjusting the angle of paper feeding.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Paper feeders are widely used in various kinds of office machines suchas copy machines, printers or fax machines. Their function is totransmit the papers one by one to a processing device such as a printmodule to ensure continuing procession.

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating aprior art paper feeder 100. The paper feeder 100 includes a paper objectseparating ramp 110 and a tray part 120. Normally, the paper feeder 100is designed so that the pickup roller 130 only catches one paper at atime. Normal force N occurs while the pickup roller 130 contacts thepapers, and the possibility of also catching the next paper isincreased, i.e. multi-feeding can occur if N is large enough to providea frictional force to the next paper. On the other hand, misfeeding mayoccur if the normal force N is too small. Prior art paper feeders alwaysutilize normal force ACM (auto-compensated-mechanism) to prevent suchproblems from occurring.

Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating therelation between N/P (the ratio between normal force N and paper pickingforce P) and paper stacking height h. In the prior art, N/P isproportional to d-h (where d indicates the distance between a hub 132 ofan ACM structure and the tray part 120). Thus, if d is fixed and hincreases, N/P will decrease. As shown in FIG. 2, N/P is inverselyproportional to h. N/P is 0.55 and 0.9 respectively if h is 15 mm and 0mm (the height of only one paper). That is, the normal force from theACM structure when h=0 mm is 1.6 times the normal force from the ACMwhen h=15 mm if the paper picking force P is the same. In other words,normal force N is inversely proportional to paper height h, but a largernormal force N provides a larger frictional force to the next paper andthe possibility for multi-feeding is increased. The paper separatingramp should provide suitable resistance to prevent such multi-feedingfrom occurring.

Please refer to FIG. 1 again. As can be seen, the force from the paperseparating ramp 110 to the front edges of papers (the frictional force)prevents the next paper from also being fed. The frictional forcedepends on the ramp angle θ, paper weight and the frictional coefficientμ between the front edges of papers and the ramp. The larger the rampangle θ, the smaller the resistant force to the paper. On the otherhand, the smaller the ramp angle θ, the larger the resistant force tothe paper. Also, the larger the friction coefficient μ, the larger theresistant force to the paper. According to the prior art, the thresholdvalue of μ for feeding papers smoothly is μ=tan (ψ−π/2). Thus, the papercan be fed smoothly if the angle between the paper separating ramp andthe paper reaches the threshold angle ψ. For papers with larger weight,the probability for multi-feeding is increased if the angle is toolarge, and mis-feeding or a paper jam may happen if the angle is toosmall. Thus, the paper feeder design becomes more complex.

The paper separating method applied to self-compensation mechanism canbe classified into three groups as detailed below:

(1) As shown in FIG. 1, the paper separating ramp is designed to haveflexibility and the paper separating face can compensate the paperentering angle corresponding to the paper weight. The paper with alarger weight will press the ramp (to the left) to generate a largerpaper entering angle to decrease the resistant force. In practice, if auser places papers by utilizing too large a force, the ramp may bepressed, affecting the initial entering angle due to the force from theuser even when light-weighted papers are utilized, thus the compensatingfunction may be useless.

(2) U.S. Pat. No. 6,880,821 discloses an apparatus for compensatingresistant force for papers of different weight by controlling thelocation of the paper separating ramp 110. Therefore, for papers withlarger weight, the paper separating ramp 110 is located far from a paperpickup device, and for papers with smaller weight, the paper separatingramp 110 is located near the paper pickup device. Such a kind ofapparatus is too complicated, however, and the user must determine theweight of papers and control the location of the paper separating ramp110 manually if the compensation mechanism is desired to be applied.

(3) U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,040 discloses an apparatus with a paperseparating ramp 110 having a buckling device with a comparatively largefrictional coefficient value such that a paper can be separated fromanother paper due to buckling force during pick-up. Also, the bucklingdevice has flexibility such that the paper head of papers of largeweight push the buckling device flexibly. Afterwards, the paperseparating operation is performed by the ramp with a comparatively lowfrictional coefficient, thereby the mis-feed or jam due to insufficienttwist force provided by the self-compensation structure can be avoided.

One of the objectives of the present invention is to solve the problemwhere the ratio between the normal force N and picking-up force P willbe too high if the stacking height of papers is low such thatmulti-feeding occurs. Another objective of the present invention is toprovide a paper separating structure to prevent a next paper from beingfed due to frictional force between the papers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an object feeding system for providing abuffering space between the pickup roller and the hollow part while thepickup roller picks up papers to decrease a necessary normal force whenthe stacking height of papers is low (that is, the ratio between thenormal force N and the paper catching force P). Also, the paper enteringangle between the paper and ramp can be compensated according to thenormal force to solve the above-mentioned problem by achieving theeffect of buckling paper separating.

The present invention provides an object-feeding system. The feedingsystem includes an object feeder and a pickup roller. The object feederincludes an object separating ramp and a tray part. The objectseparating ramp is placed along an object feeding direction. The traypart is for loading at least an object to be fed, and the tray partincludes a main body and a protruding portion sticking out from the mainbody and connected to the object separating ramp, wherein the protrudingportion constitutes a hollow with this main body situated in the hollow.The pickup roller is for feeding the object by rolling, wherein thehollow and the pickup roller are located at separate two sides of theobject and the pickup roller is located above the hollow.

The present invention also provides an object-feeding system comprisingan object feeder and a pickup roller. The object feeder comprises: anobject separating ramp, placed along an object feeding direction; a traypart, for loading at least an object to be fed and an elastic supportingdevice, located above a hollow. The tray part includes a main body; anda protruding portion, sticking out from the main body and connected tothe object separating ramp, wherein the protruding portion and the mainbody form a hollow part. The pickup roller is used for feeding theobject by rolling, wherein the hollow part and the pickup roller arerespectively located at two sides of the object and the pickup roller islocated above the hollow part.

The present invention also provides an object-feeding system comprisingan object feeder and a pickup roller. The object feeder comprises anobject separating ramp placed along an object feeding direction and atray part. The tray part includes a first tray connected to the objectseparating ramp; and a second tray located on the first tray, forloading at least one object to be fed, wherein the second tray is madeof elastic material. The pickup roller is used for feeding the object byrolling.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a prior art paper feeder.

FIG. 2 is the ratio between the normal force and paper picking forcecorresponding to paper height.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeding systemaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, comprisingan object feeder according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the paper picking operationof the object feeding system shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the objectisolating device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder according toa second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder according toa third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder according toa fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder according toa fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder accordingto a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder accordingto a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder accordingto an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder accordingto a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an object feeder accordingto a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 3, the object feeding system 200 comprisesan object feeder 300, a pickup roller 210 and an object to be fed 330(ex: a paper). The object feeder 300 according to the first embodimentshown in FIG. 3 comprises an object separating ramp 310, a tray part 320and an object isolating device 360, wherein the object separating ramp310 is placed along an object feeding direction for the object to be fed330; and the tray part 320 is used for loading at least an object to befed 330. As shown in FIG. 3, the tray part 320 includes a main body 322and a protruding portion 324. The protruding portion 324 sticks out fromthe main body 322 and connects to the object separating ramp 310, andthe protruding portion 324 and the main body 322 form a hollow part 350.In the present embodiment, the hollow part 350 is located on theprotruding part 324, where a first surface 325 facing the object to befed 330 of the main body 322 is higher than a second surface 323 facingthe object to be fed of the protruding part 324. Furthermore, the pickuproller 210 has a normal force self-compensation structure for feedingthe object to be fed 330 by rolling. Also, the hollow part 350 and thepickup roller 210 are respectively located at two sides of the object tobe fed 330, and the pickup roller 210 is located above the hollow part350.

It should be noted that since the first surface 325 is higher than thesecond surface 323 while the object to be fed 330 is located in theobject feeder 300, the front edge part of the object to be fed 330 tiltsdown in the direction from the main body 322 to the protruding part 324.Thus the object feeder 300 is separated from a first object surface 332located above the first face 325 and a second object surface 334 locatedabove the second face 323.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pickup roller 210 presses down to touch thesecond object surface 334 while the pickup roller 210 starts to operate.The distance D between the hub 212 and tray part 320 of the pickuproller 210 is smaller than the distance d in the prior art. Thus, theratio N/P between normal force N and paper picking force P will decreasesuch that the problem of a too large normal force N due to a high N/Pvalue from low stacking height of papers is removed.

Please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating thepaper picking operation of the object feeding system shown in FIG. 3.The angle between the object separating ramp 310 and the second objectsurface 334 is θ having a relatively small value such that the objectseparating ramp 310 provides more resistance to an object head 335, andthe pickup roller 210 should provide extra normal force to press theobject to be fed 330 down. At the same time, the second object surface334 suffers the pressure from the pickup roller 210 to generatedeformation, and the second object surface 334 generates shift. As shownin FIG. 4, an angle ψ is formed between the object separating ramp 310and the shifted second object surface 334. The object to be fed 330 canbe smoothly picked up from the pickup roller 210 if the pickup roller210 keeps pressing down to continuously increase the angle between theobject separating ramp 310 and the shifted second object surface 334 toreach μ=tan(ψ−π/2). In this case, the curving operation of the object tobe fed 330 is similar to the buckling effect shown in the prior art (3)and the function of paper separating can thereby be reached.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the objectisolating device 360 shown in FIG. 3. The object isolating device 360 isrevolvably connected to the protruding part 324, and is located at afirst location 362 vertical to the tray part 320 to isolate the objectto be fed 330 and the object separating ramp 310 while the object feeder300 is pulled out from a machine body (not illustrated). Additionally, aprotruding lump 370 pushes a bottom 366 of the object isolating device360 out if the object feeder 300 is pushed into the main body of themachine, and a top 368 of the object isolating device 360 revolves to asecond location 364 in an anti-clockwise direction to allow the object330 to be fed. Therefore the object to be fed 330 will not contact theobject separating ramp 310, such that the limitation is decreased andthe shape-changing ability of the paper is increased. In turn, thedemand for motor torque during paper picking process is decreased andthe damage due to the curing of the object header 335 is also decreased.

Please refer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 601 according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the object feeding system 601comprises an object feeder 600 and a pickup roller 210. The objectfeeder 600 comprises an object separating ramp 610, a tray part 620 andan object isolating device 660, wherein the object separating ramp 610is placed along an object feeding direction, and the tray part 620 isused for loading at least an object to be fed (not illustrated). Asshown in FIG. 6, the tray part 620 includes a main body 622, aprotruding portion 624 and an elastic supporting device 626. Theprotruding portion 624 sticks out from the main body 622 and connects tothe object separating ramp 610, and the protruding portion 624 and themain body 622 form a hollow part 650. In the present embodiment, thehollow part 650 is located on the protruding part 624, where a surfacefacing the object to be fed of the main body 622 is higher than asurface facing the object to be fed of the protruding part 624. In thepresent embodiment, the elastic supporting device 626 is located on thesurface facing the object to be fed of the protruding part 624 and theprotruding part 624 comprises a supporting board 627 and an elasticdevice 629, for example, a string, with two ends respectively connectedto the supporting board 627 and the protruding part 624 to provide anelastic force to the supporting board 627. Furthermore, the pickuproller 210 has a normal force self-compensation structure to feed theobject to be fed by rolling. Also, the hollow part 650 and the pickuproller 210 are respectively located at two sides of the object to befed, and the pickup roller 210 is located above the hollow part 650. Theoperation of the object feeding system 601 is similar to that of theobject feeding system 200. That is, the pickup roller will press downthe object to be fed and the supporting board 627 jointly to curve theobject to be fed, and a detailed description therefore omitted forbrevity.

Please refer to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 701 according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 7, the object feeding system 701 comprisesan object feeder 700 and a pickup roller 210. The object feeder 700comprises an object separating ramp 710, a tray part 720 and an objectisolating device 760, wherein the object separating ramp 710 is placedalong an object feeding direction, and the tray part 720 is used forloading at least an object to be fed (not illustrated). The tray part720 comprises: a first tray 722, connected to the object separating ramp710; and a second tray 724, located on the first tray 722, for loadingat least one object to be fed, wherein the second tray is made ofelastic material such as a spongy material. In this embodiment, theobject feeding system 701 also uses the same paper separating operationas the object feeding system 200, that is, the pickup roller will pressdown the object to be fed and the second tray 724 jointly to curve theobject to be fed.

Please refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 801 according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the object feeding system 801comprises an object feeder 800 and a pickup roller 210. The objectfeeder 800 comprises an object separating ramp 810, a tray part 820 andan object isolating device 860, wherein the object separating ramp 810is placed along an object feeding direction, and the tray part 820 isused for loading at least an object to be fed (not illustrated). Thetray part 820 comprises: a main body 822, a protruding portion 824, andan elastic supporting device 825. The protruding portion 824 sticks outfrom the main body 822 and connects to the object separating ramp 810.The protruding portion 824 and the main body 825 form the hollow part850. In this embodiment, the hollow part 850 is located on theprotruding part 824, and the elastic supporting device 825 is made ofelastic material such as a spongy material. Additionally, the pickuproller 210 has a normal force self-compensation structure to feed theobject to be fed by rolling. Also, the hollow part 850 and the pickuproller 210 are respectively located at two sides of the object to befed, and the pickup roller 210 is located above the hollow part 850. Theoperation of the object feeding system 801 is similar to that of theobject feeding system 701, the main difference being that the objectfeeder 800 does not provide a full layer of elastic material on the traypart 820. Since the pickup roller 210 only touches the front region ofthe object to be fed 330, as shown in FIG. 3, the elastic material justneeds to be provided below the pickup roller 210 to perform the paperseparating function.

Please refer to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 901 according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 9, the object feeding system 901 comprisesan object feeder 900 and a pickup roller 210. The object feeder 900comprises an object separating ramp 910, a tray part 920 and an objectisolating device 960, wherein the object separating ramp 910 is placedalong an object feeding direction, and the tray part 920 is used forloading at least an object to be fed 930. The tray part 920 comprises: amain body 922 and a protruding portion 924. The protruding portion 924sticks out from the main body 922 and connects to the object separatingramp 910. The protruding portion 924 and the main body 922 form a hollowpart 950. In the present embodiment, the hollow part 950 is located onthe main body 922, where a first surface 925 facing the object to be fed930 of the main body 922 is higher than a second surface 923 facing theobject to be fed 930 of the protruding part 924. Additionally, thepickup roller 210 has a normal force self-compensation structure to feedthe object to be fed 930 by rolling. Also, the hollow part 950 and thepickup roller 210 are respectively located at two sides of the object tobe fed 930, and the pickup roller 210 is located above the hollow part950.

The operation of the object feeding system 901 is similar to the objectfeeding system 200. It should be noted that there is no apparentdifference between the distance D (the distance between the hub 212 ofthe pickup roller 210 and the tray part 920) and the distance d of theprior art. Thus, according to FIG. 2, the ratio N/P between the normalforce N and paper picking force P cannot be improved, but there is stillcompensation for the paper entering angle while picking up papers.

Please refer to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 1001 according to a sixth embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the object feeding system 1001comprises an object feeder 1000 and a pickup roller 210. The objectfeeder 1000 comprises an object separating ramp 1010, a tray part 1020and an object isolating device 1060, wherein the object separating ramp1010 is placed along an object feeding direction, and the tray part 1020is used for loading at least an object to be fed (not illustrated). Asshown in FIG. 10, the tray part 1020 includes a main body 1022, and aprotruding portion 1024. The protruding portion 1024 sticks out from themain body 1022 and connects to the object separating ramp 1010, and ahollow part 1050 is formed on the main body 1022. The elastic supportingdevice 1026 is located on the surface of the hollow part 1050 facing theobject to be fed, and the elastic supporting device 1026 comprises asupporting board 1027 and an elastic device 1029. The elastic device1029, for example a string, has two ends respectively connected to thesupporting board 1027 and the protruding part 1024 to provide an elasticforce to the supporting board 1027. Furthermore, the pickup roller 210has a normal force self-compensation structure to feed the object to befed by rolling. Also, the hollow part 1050 and the pickup roller 210 arerespectively located at two sides of the object to be fed, and thepickup roller 210 is located above the hollow part 1050. The paperseparating operation of the object feeding system 1001 is similar tothat of the object feeding system 901, that is, the pickup roller willpress down the object to be fed and the supporting board 1027 jointly tocurve the object to be fed, thus it is omitted for brevity.

Please refer to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 1101 according to a seventh embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the object feeding system 1101comprises an object feeder 1100 and a pickup roller 210. The objectfeeder 1100 comprises an object separating ramp 1110, a tray part 1120and an object isolating device 1160, wherein the object separating ramp1110 is placed along an object feeding direction, and the tray part 1120is used for loading at least an object to be fed (not illustrated). Inthis embodiment, the tray part 1120 includes a main body 1122, aprotruding portion 1124, and an elastic supporting device 1125. Theprotruding portion 1124 sticks out from the main body 1122 and connectsto the object separating ramp 1110, and a hollow part 1150 is formed onthe main body 1122. The elastic supporting device 1125 is located on thesurface of the hollow part 1150 facing the object to be fed, and theelastic supporting device 1125 is made of elastic material such as aspongy material. Furthermore, the pickup roller 210 has a normal forceself-compensation structure to feed the object to be fed by rolling.Also, the hollow part 1150 and the pickup roller 210 are respectivelylocated at two sides of the object to be fed, and the pickup roller 210is located above the hollow part 1150. The paper separating operation ofthe object feeding system 1101 is similar to that of the object feedingsystem 910, and thus is omitted for brevity.

Please refer to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 1201 according to an eighth embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the object feeding system 1201comprises an object feeder 1200 and a pickup roller 210. The objectfeeder 1200 comprises an object separating ramp 1210, a tray part 1220and an object isolating device 1260, wherein the object separating ramp1210 is placed along an object feeding direction, and the tray part 1220is used for loading at least an object to be fed (not illustrated). Thetray part 1220 includes a main body 1222, and a protruding portion 1224.The protruding portion 1224 sticks out from the main body 1222 andconnects to the object separating ramp 1210. In this embodiment, themain body 1222 and the protruding portion 1224 form the hollow part1250. Additionally, the pickup roller 210 has a normal forceself-compensation structure to feed the object to be fed by rolling.Also, the hollow part 1250 and the pickup roller 210 are respectivelylocated at two sides of the object to be fed, and the pickup roller 210is located above the hollow part 1250. The operation of the objectfeeding system 1201 is similar to that of the object feeding system 910,and thus is omitted for brevity.

Please refer to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 1301 according to a ninth embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the object feeding system 1301comprises an object feeder 1300 and a pickup roller 210. The objectfeeder 1300 comprises an object separating ramp 1310, a tray part 1320and an object isolating device 1360, wherein the object separating ramp1310 is placed along an object feeding direction, and the tray part 1320is used for loading at least an object to be fed (not illustrated). Thetray part 1320 includes a main body 1322, a protruding portion 1324. Theprotruding portion 1324 sticks out from the main body 1322 and connectsto the object separating ramp 1310, and the main body 1222 and theprotruding part 1224 form a hollow part 1350. The elastic supportingdevice 1326 is located on the surface of the hollow part 1350 facing theobject to be fed, and the elastic supporting device 1326 comprises asupporting board 1327 and an elastic device 1329. The elastic device1329, for example, a string, has two ends respectively connected to thesupporting board 1327 and the protruding part 1324 to provide an elasticforce to the supporting board 1327.

Furthermore, the pickup roller 210 has a normal force self-compensationstructure to feed the object to be fed by rolling. Also, the hollow part1350 and the pickup roller 210 are respectively located at two sides ofthe object to be fed, and the pickup roller 210 is located above thehollow part 1350. The paper separating operation of the object feedingsystem 1301 is similar to that of the object feeding system 901, thatis, the pickup roller will press down the object to be fed and thesupporting board 1327 jointly to curve the object to be fed, thus it isomitted for brevity. In this embodiment, flexible material such as afilm can be located above the hollow part 1350 for connecting the mainbody 1322 and the protruding part 1324 to substitute for the supportingboard 1327 and the elastic device 1329.

Please refer to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating anobject feeding system 1401 according to a tenth embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 14, the object feeding system 1401comprises an object feeder 1400 and a pickup roller 210. The objectfeeder 1400 comprises an object separating ramp 1410, and a tray part1420, wherein the object separating ramp 1410 is placed along an objectfeeding direction, and the tray part 1420 is used for loading at leastan object to be fed (not illustrated). The tray part 1420 includes amain body 1422, a protruding portion 1424 and an elastic supportingdevice 1425. The protruding portion 1420 sticks out from the main body1422 and connects to the object separating ramp 1410. In thisembodiment, the hollow part 1450 is located between the main body 1222and the protruding portion 1224 and the elastic supporting device 1425is made of elastic material such as a spongy material. Additionally, thepickup roller 210 has a normal force self-compensation structure to feedthe object to be fed by rolling. Also, the hollow part 1450 and thepickup roller 210 are respectively located at two sides of the object tobe fed, and the pickup roller 210 is located above the hollow part 1450.The paper separating operation of the object feeding system 1401 issimilar to that of the object feeding system 910, and thus is omittedfor brevity.

It should be noted that the object isolating device is not necessary andthe object feeding system can still operate without the objectseparating device. Additionally, the first embodiment is only apreferred embodiment of the present invention and is not a limitation ofthe scope of the disclosed system. The object feeding system with apickup roller having a buffer region below for performing paperseparating function also falls in the scope of the present invention.

The present invention provides an object feeding system for providing abuffering space between the pickup roller and a hollow part while thepickup roller picking up papers to decrease a necessary normal forcewhen the stacking height of papers is low (that is, the ratio betweenthe normal force N and the paper catching force P). Also, the paperentering angle between the paper and ramp can be compensated accordingto the normal force to solve the above-mentioned problems by achievingthe effect of buckling paper separating.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

1. An object-feeding system, comprising: an object feeder, comprising:an object separating ramp, placed along an object feeding direction; anda tray part, for loading at least an object to be fed, including: a mainbody; and a protruding portion, sticking out the main body and connectedto the object separating ramp, wherein the protruding portion and themain body form a hollow part; and a pickup roller, for feeding theobject by rolling, wherein the hollow part and the pickup roller arerespectively located at two sides of the object and the pickup roller islocated above the hollow part.
 2. The object-feeding system of claim 1,wherein the hollow part is located on the protruding part, where thesurface facing the object to be fed of the main body is higher than thesurface facing the object to be fed of the protruding part.
 3. Theobject-feeding system of claim 1, wherein the hollow part is located onthe main body, where the surface facing the object to be fed of the mainbody is lower than the surface facing the object to be fed of theprotruding part.
 4. The object-feeding system of claim 1, wherein thehollow part is located between the protruding part and the main body. 5.The object-feeding system of claim 1, further comprising an objectisolating device revolvably connected to the protruding part, whereinthe object isolating device is located at a first location to isolatethe object to be loaded by the tray part and the object separating rampif the object-feeding system is in a non-feeding situation, and theobject isolating device revolves from the first location to a secondlocation such that the object to be fed can be fed if the object-feedingsystem is in a feeding situation.
 6. The object-feeding system of claim1, wherein the pickup roller has a normal force self-compensationstructure.
 7. An object-feeding system, comprising: an object feeder,comprising: an object separating ramp, placed along an object feedingdirection; and a tray part, for loading at least an object to be fed,including: a main body; and a protruding portion, sticking out from themain body and connected to the object separating ramp, wherein theprotruding portion and the main body form a hollow part; and an elasticsupporting device, located above the hollow part; and a pickup roller,for feeding the object by rolling, wherein the hollow part and thepickup roller are respectively located at two sides of the object andthe pickup roller is located above the hollow part.
 8. Theobject-feeding system of claim 7, wherein the hollow part is located onthe protruding part, where the surface facing the object to be fed ofthe main body is higher than the surface facing the object to be fed ofthe protruding part.
 9. The object-feeding system of claim 7, whereinthe hollow part is located on the main body, where the surface facingthe object to be fed of the main body is lower than the surface facingthe object to be fed of the protruding part.
 10. The object-feedingsystem of claim 7, wherein the hollow part is located between theprotruding part and the main body.
 11. The object-feeding system ofclaim 7, further comprising an object isolating device, revolvablyconnected to the protruding part, wherein the object isolating device islocated at a first location to isolate the object to be loaded by thetray part and the object separating ramp if the object-feeding system isin a non-feeding situation, and the object isolating device revolvesfrom the first location to a second location such that the object to befed can be fed if the object-feeding system is in a feeding situation.12. The object-feeding system of claim 7, wherein the elastic supportingdevice comprises: a supporting board; and an elastic device, with twoends respectively connected to the supporting board and the protrudingpart to provide an elastic force to the supporting board.
 13. Theobject-feeding system of claim 12, wherein the elastic device is aspring.
 14. The object-feeding system of claim 7, wherein the pickuproller has a normal force self-compensation structure.
 15. Anobject-feeding system, comprising: an object feeder, comprising: anobject separating ramp, placed along an object feeding direction; and atray part, comprising: a first tray, connected to the object separatingramp; and a second tray, located on the first tray, for loading at leastone object to be fed, wherein the second tray is made of elasticmaterial; and a pickup roller, for feeding the object by rolling. 16.The object-feeding system of claim 15, further comprising an objectisolating device revolvably connected to the protruding part, whereinthe object isolating device is located at a first location to isolatethe object to be loaded by the tray part and the object separating rampif the object-feeding system is in a non-feeding situation, and theobject isolating device revolves from the first location to a secondlocation such that the object to be fed can be fed if the object-feedingsystem is in a feeding situation.
 17. The object-feeding system of claim15, wherein the pickup roller has a normal force self-compensationstructure.